Kayotik MindWorks

Monday, April 14, 2008

China must have been stumped when the protests during the Olympics torch relay started. They underestimated the feelings of the Tibetans and the free world against its occupation of Tibet. It is very unlikely that China will ever return Tibet to its righful owners, the Tibetans, but it is also strange that many commentators on this topic get into convoluted justifications on why Tibet belongs to China.

My points:

1) China invaded and occupied Tibet in 1950 and since then had ruled it. They claimed that Tibet belongs to China as once in the distant history it was ruled by the Mongolians who had unified China and Tibet in a vast empire. This is much akin to saying that most of Europe should belong to Italy as there was once when the vast Roman empire extended all the way across Europe to England. They also claimed that they invaded Tibet to free its people from the feudal-like society existing at that time - it is odd that the Tibetans did not appreciate this so-called release from serfdom. Not surprising as this was another hogwash of an excuse.

2) Supporters of China claim that China had done much in improving the infrastructure and life in Tibet. Yes, there were indeed improvements but does it mean Tibet could not have improved on its own? Nepal and Bhutan were also once highly inacessible and backward countries and both have came a long way on their own and both had democratic elections recently.

3) The Tibetans and Han Chinese do not look the same - you can tell them apart easily; their culture and lifestyle is different and the Tibetan writing has Greco-Indian influences while the Chinese writing is more pictorial-based. So simply said, Tibetans are not Chinese and were never Chinese.

The Tibetans lost their homeland - they simply want it back and it is not surprising that they and their Western supporters are using the Olympics games to exert pressure on China. How can China be suprised by such Tibetan nationalistic feelings as China itself exerts great pressure and often threathens Taiwan as it feels that the latter belongs to it. How can China be surprised by the mixing of politics with the Olympics as it itself had, for years, prevented the participation of Taiwan in the games?

Monday, January 22, 2007

In her small worldOnly she is rightOnly she can existsOnly she has a right to godAnd all others are condemned

ButShe forgetsAll came forth from the same wombAll came forth from the same godAnd all remain his children(In response to the nomination of a particular nmp in the singapore gahmen; title with compliments of Enigma)

Monday, November 27, 2006

they lay in their bedholding hands fondlytears in eyeshearts heavyminds laden with memoriestheir lives long filledwith hardships, neverending

they struggled dailyfrom job to jobno one wanted themthey were too oldthey were too slowthere was not much earnedthere was not much to eatthey were always hungry

fear filled their heartswith every new dayof what it will bring

help was hardly therethe cc asked for forms and formsto fillto prove they were poor

they were just tiredof their daily heartaches

as the city bustled awakeas the bmws roared down the streetsas children wore nikes to schoolas the civil servants sat down to another meetingas the cc staff had another cup of coffeethey decided to leavethis heartless citythat ignored its poorthat was slow to help

they lay in bedhand in handtears in eyesbreathing in gasuntilthere wereno moreheartaches

landing in delhion a hot and dusty afternoonthe smog filled the airthe sky could not be seenthe streets were clogged fullof cars, scooters, rickshawsand creaky buses from days goneall fighting, honking to get aheadhuman masses were everywhererubbish lined the streetsroadside carts dished out rice and dhallbones-sticking-out cows ambled alongconnaught place bustledwith the young and trendyin mcdonalds, kfc, cafesfeasting on vege burgerschandhi chowk wasa mess of traffic, people, cowsand the temples filled with the faithfulsand the fried pakoras in oil-filled woksand the lime juice cartsand the sellers hawking stuffand the rickshaw drivers that took you nowherebut emporiums where they could get a commissionthe metro zoomed, clean and slickan underground of peacekarol bagh was bright and neon-lightywith indian delis, pizza hut, mcdonaldsand budget hotelsand well-fed ladies in sareesstreamedinto shops, stockful with clothesand wedding jewelrystreet dwellerspoor, forgotten, abandonedslept, ate, drank on roadsidestheir young onespalms stretched outpestering, but faces smiling

indiaat first glanceis a shocka shock of rich and poora shock of dirty and cleana shock of packed roadsa shock of cows and humanitya shock of dhall and vege burgersa shock of little ones, homeless

Sunday, October 01, 2006

CommandAnd controlIs how they always do itCommandAnd threatenIs how they always do it

They say they listen to usThey say they get our viewsThey say they let us write freelyThey say they let us speak openly

But then their views are already firmBut then their thoughts are already setBut then their decisions are already madeYou cannot always say what you want toYou cannot always do what you want toYou cannot always watch you want toYou cannot always read what you want to